“If you want evidence the world is a terrible place, watch the news and surf the web. But if you want to remember how incredible this planet is, go out in nature. Unlike social media and news, nature has no incentive to keep us agitated, angry, and anxious.” - Austin Perlmutter M.D. (thanks to Kai Siedenburg who posted this quote)
Hello friends! We had a brief warm-up that graciously cleared most of the roads. The little birds came out of hiding and posed for me in the snow (though I still have to process most of those). Now it’s cold again, which means the coves and ponds are frozen, and my chances of seeing winter ducks are increasing.
I’m so grateful to be able to put more of the incredible and less of the horror into the world today. The beauty of nature has saved me time and time again. Here are my choices for today:
The almost full moon rising on January 12, 2024.
The guardian at the entrance before sunrise.
Song sparrow acrobatics.
Juncos seem more willing to pose for photos as the winter goes on. Strange, but it happens every year!
Sunrise over the frozen pond in the neighborhood park. January 7, 2024.
I haven’t found any bluebirds in the snow yet, but the winter is still young. This was just before the snow.
Icicles are fascinating. There’s a whole world inside that ice.
When the ponds and coves freeze, there are more ducks on the lake! Gadwalls and mallards.
The more it freezes, the more chances I have to see hooded mergansers. Skittish little ducks!
Junco friend gathering all the berries just before the snow covered them.
Showing off the “sparrow hop,” which is any sparrow’s favorite dance move. It seems to scratch up something from the ground.
Did the leaf make the hole? Did it just happen to fall in the hole? So many questions.
Light, shadow, color, texture, pattern. Nature’s art is so much fun.
Every time I look at the photos of the cattails with ice, they look out of focus. But when I zoom in, they are actually in focus. Fascinating!
Even up close!
May beauty cross your path this week, no matter what challenges you face.
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Lovely post and wonderful quote~! Those leaf holes have always fascinated me. My theory is that the leaves absorb more heat with their color, and that heat melts the snow below the now warmer leaf. It happens on ice too as you no doubt know! To put it more poetically, “Beneath the fallen leaf the ice and snow do melt. The leaf returns to the welcome embrace of the earth and water.”
Love that quote and it’s so true❤️😍👍. And I have to remind myself that snow does help water the earth when it melts and is important just like rain in the summertime 👍❄️🥶🙏. Lovely photos you take remind me of the Beaty of snow and ice too👍❤️😍. Especially love the moon photo with the dark surrounding the blue and the moon🥰😍❤️👍🌝🌕
Lovely post and wonderful quote~! Those leaf holes have always fascinated me. My theory is that the leaves absorb more heat with their color, and that heat melts the snow below the now warmer leaf. It happens on ice too as you no doubt know! To put it more poetically, “Beneath the fallen leaf the ice and snow do melt. The leaf returns to the welcome embrace of the earth and water.”
Love that quote and it’s so true❤️😍👍. And I have to remind myself that snow does help water the earth when it melts and is important just like rain in the summertime 👍❄️🥶🙏. Lovely photos you take remind me of the Beaty of snow and ice too👍❤️😍. Especially love the moon photo with the dark surrounding the blue and the moon🥰😍❤️👍🌝🌕